ELC Blog

October 19, 2015 marked the 165th anniversary of the birth of one of Kappa Alpha Theta's fearless founders, Bettie Locke Hamilton. In honor of this, members of Theta across the United States and Canada came together to spread the widest influence for good.

As educational leadership consultants (ELCs), we have the privilege of participating in a variety of Day of Service activities. For example, Ashlee Moody volunteered at CASA of the River Region with members of Theta Kappa Chapter at the University of Louisville, and Sam Golden sorted food and made sandwiches at a food bank with the women of Zeta Omicron at Wake Forest University. Aquene Kenerson visited Beta Chi Chapter at the University of Alberta while members raked leaves in the local community, and Ann Crary visited Epsilon Zeta Chapter at the University of Mississippi while they volunteered at a Buddy Walk for children with Down syndrome. Additionally, I had the opportunity to craft holiday cards for CASA children and their families with the women of Theta Lambda at the University of Rochester and members of the Rochester Alumnae Chapter.

Day of Service is about taking time out of our busy lives one day each year to give to those in need. With this said, imagine all of the wonderful things we could accomplish if all 200,000 living, initiated members of Kappa Alpha Theta came together in service throughout the year! Whether you are serving your campus or volunteering in your local community, there are multitudes of ways to celebrate Bettie Locke's life and vision for the Fraternity.

If you or your chapter made an impact in your community on October 19, we encourage you to enter the Day of Service photo contest! The winner will be featured in The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine and on Kappa Alpha Theta's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.

Eta Psi and Eta Chi Thetas with ELCs on Kappa Alpha Theta Day of Service 2013 in Boston!

After having lived in suburbia all my life, I was happy to find out that I would be moving to a more metropolitan area. Although Medford is a suburb of Boston, it is still much more city-like than anywhere I've lived before. I am generally familiar with subway systems and have used them in my travels before, but only for short, "touristy" visits. To use the subway, commonly called the T, and bus system of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Jenny and I purchased a "CharlieCard." This re-loadable ticket was named for the campaign song of Walter O'Brien Jr during the 1949 mayoral election about a man named Charlie who used the Boston transportation system.

I am pleased to finally say that Jenny and I have gotten the hang of the T. Public transportation has been a big adjustment, but we prefer it to driving our car through the crazy streets of Boston. It is absolutely impossible to get anywhere, especially when using a map app on our phones. Our first mistake was taking our car instead of the T to our first Red Sox game. Any Bostonian would have immediately advised us not to do so. It was our first week in the area and we had no idea that traffic would be at a stand-still and parking would be so expensive. Our second mistake was using our phones to get home from the airport. Going there was easy; no problem; straight shot. The way back was a completely different story. Instead of going from Logan Airport back to Medford on I-93, our phone took us downtown to Ipswich Street. This was exceptionally bad timing as it is the location of Fenway Park and a Red Sox game was letting out.

I have since tried out the bus system and feel a little bit more like a city girl. I absolutely love being in this area because it has allowed me to meet so many other Thetas. Just this past weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting the Eta Chi women on our Day of Service!

What's your favorite city to visit? Have you ever met another Theta in a new city?

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